Standardized vs. customized firm-initiated interactions: Their effect on customer gratitude and performance in a B2B context
| Autor: | Iguácel Melero-Polo, Andreea Trifu, Miguel Á. Ruz-Mendoza, Jesús Cambra-Fierro |
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| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Marketing
Estimation media_common.quotation_subject 05 social sciences Context (language use) Transactional leadership Social exchange theory Multinational corporation 0502 economics and business Gratitude 050211 marketing Profitability index Business 050203 business & management media_common Panel data |
| Zdroj: | Journal of Business Research. 133:341-353 |
| ISSN: | 0148-2963 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.05.006 |
| Popis: | This study examines preferential treatment and its effect on customer gratitude and customer outcomes in the B2B context. Drawing on social exchange theory, the paper investigates to what extent different categories of firm-initiated interactions (standardized and customized) have an impact on customer gratitude and relationship strength, and on other transactional and non-transactional customer outcomes (profitability and word-of-mouth). A dynamic panel data estimation was developed based on a random sample of 2,175 customers from 2013 to 2017 provided by a multinational B2B insurance company. The results indicate that standardized interactions, as opposed to customized interactions, have no influence on customer gratitude, profitability, or word-of-mouth. Moreover, customer gratitude affects relationship strength, which in turn affects profitability and word-of-mouth. These findings emphasize the importance of determining the effect of different types of firm–customer interactions on transactional and non-transactional behaviors. This is crucial for practitioners because it enables them to adjust commercial resources more efficiently. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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